Monster Man: The effect of Romantic masculinities in Frankenstein

deadline for submissions: 
October 1, 2016
full name / name of organization: 
A. Paige Frazier / Purdue University
contact email: 

This paper expounds on masculine tropes in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein in an attempt to identify a root cause for the various oppressions at work in the novel--the oppression of women, indigenous people, and animals. In analyzing these oppressions, readers can see that they begin and are perpetuated by the novel's masculine figures, namely Victor Frankenstein. I also argue that Mary Shelley was aware of the intersectional politics she wrote into her novel, as much of her political life has been erased by the dominant, mascuine literary tradition. Thus, this analysis of Romantic masculinity is not limited to its fictional representation, but also extends to its historical real-life counterparts. By identifying and examining issues of violence in Romantic representaions of masculinty, I hope that readers can see and analyze these interesecting politics at work in other cultural venues of the 21st century. The oppression of women, animals, and racial minorities is present in digital and non-digital cultures across nationality, in film, television, and literature at the present time.